<html><body><div style="color:#000; background-color:#fff; font-family:HelveticaNeue, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, Lucida Grande, sans-serif;font-size:12pt"><div>Hi:</div><div><br></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; font-family: HelveticaNeue,Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Lucida Grande,sans-serif; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal;">My name is Betty. Although I have been on this list serv for about a year now, I have been mostly observing. I would like to introduce myself, and also connect with you all, as I am in need of wisdom and would like to learn from your experience. <br></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; font-family: HelveticaNeue,Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Lucida Grande,sans-serif; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal;"><br></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; font-family: HelveticaNeue,Helvetica
Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Lucida Grande,sans-serif; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal;">Our daughter Bethany is 7 years old. She was born totally blind (with no light perception). While she is doing quite well on self-care (such as dressing, toileting, eating, getting around, etc..), she is very delay cognitively, currently at about the level of a 3-4 year old. We live in Gaithersburg, Montgomery County, which provided excellent one-on-one services(braille, OT, PT, ESOL, O&M) for her, for which I am extremely grateful for. The school has suggested testing for her, and the general impression from her teachers is that she probably has some level of cognitive impairment. <br></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; font-family: HelveticaNeue,Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Lucida Grande,sans-serif; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal;"><br></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);
font-size: 16px; font-family: HelveticaNeue,Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Lucida Grande,sans-serif; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal;">She is currently attending main-stream kindergarten in a classroom with 21 sighted children. She is struggling to learn basic abstract concepts, such as quantity, same/difference. She is also struggling in reading and writing (learning the alphabets in Braille). <br></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; font-family: HelveticaNeue,Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Lucida Grande,sans-serif; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal;"><br></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; font-family: HelveticaNeue,Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Lucida Grande,sans-serif; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal;">I have concerns about her placement next year, as it is quite obvious that she is not a good fit for main-stream. The
other option I was presented was the Learning Center, which is mostly comprised of kids with behavioral or emotional challenge, in addition to cognitive delay. I have some serious concerns about sending Bethany to the Learning Center, because of the behavioral influence. (Bethany is very calm, and emotionally age appreciate). <br></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; font-family: HelveticaNeue,Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Lucida Grande,sans-serif; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal;"><br></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; font-family: HelveticaNeue,Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Lucida Grande,sans-serif; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal;">I will be visiting the Maryland School for the Blinds next week, and hoping to find a good program for her. If any of you has similar experience, or any wisdom or suggestions on this, I
would really really appreciate. My goal is to find an academic placement for Bethany where she is reach her maximum potential. </div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; font-family: HelveticaNeue,Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Lucida Grande,sans-serif; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal;"><br></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; font-family: HelveticaNeue,Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Lucida Grande,sans-serif; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal;">Thank you so much in advance for help.</div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; font-family: HelveticaNeue,Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Lucida Grande,sans-serif; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal;"><br></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; font-family: HelveticaNeue,Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Lucida Grande,sans-serif; background-color: transparent; font-style:
normal;">Betty<br></div></div></body></html>